| A | B |
|---|
| biome | a arge region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain plant and animal types |
| deciduous trees | shed their leaves to save water during the winter or dry season |
| evergreen trees | stay green all year and do not lose leaves |
| conifers | another name for evergreen trees |
| tropical rainforests | have thin, nutrient poor soil |
| savanna | a grassland that often has scattered trees, and seasonal rains |
| grassland | area with few trees, seed-eating animals, and are flat with rolling hills |
| desert | areas with little or no plant life, and extreme temperatures |
| tundra | very cold with little or no rainfall |
| permafrost | layer of soil that stays frozen all of the time, found in the polar tundra |
| tree line | area of elevation in the tundra where trees cannot grow |
| plankton | tiny organisms that live near the surface of water. They are usually producers |
| surface zone | warm, top layer of the ocean |
| thermocline | layer in which water temperature decrases very quickly with depth |
| deep zone | bottom of the ocean, it is extremely cold |
| intertidal zone | where the ocean meets the land |
| neritic zone | ocean floor slopes downward, warm water, recieves a lot of sunlight |
| oceanic zone | sea floor drops quickly, deep water of the open ocean |
| benthic zone | ocean floor, food sinks down, no sunlight, thermal vents |
| estuary | an area where freshwater meets salt water from the oceans |
| Sargasso Sea | found in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean |
| sargassum | floating rafts of algae |
| tributary | small stream that joins a larger stream |
| littoral zone | area of water closest to the edge of a lake or pond |
| open water zone | the surface water found in the middle of a lake or pond |
| deep water zone | no sunlight reaches here. Found underneath the open-water zone |
| wetland | an area of land that is periodically underwater or whose soil contains a great deal of moisture |
| marsh | treeless wetland ecosystem |
| swamp | wetland in which trees and shrubs grow |
